


i choose you

by lazyfish



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Whaaaat?, being emotionally vulnerable?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-07
Updated: 2018-08-07
Packaged: 2019-06-23 11:26:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15605271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lazyfish/pseuds/lazyfish
Summary: After being tortured, Bobbi is plagued by nightmares and the worry that she and Hunter are not meant to be.





	i choose you

Bobbi wakes up in the hospital bed with her heart pounding and her sheets soaked with sweat. Mack’s already halfway to the door, because whenever nightmares wake her up, she always asks for the same thing. _Bring me Hunter_ , or _I want Hunter_ , or, on her worst nights, just _Lance_. The nights where he’s the one sitting vigil by her bedside are the easiest - sometimes she doesn’t wake up at all, just finds him curled beside her in the morning.

She hates the nightmares. She hates that every night she’s forced to see the person she loves die. She hates that _everyone_ knows now how much he means to her. Bobbi doesn’t wear her heart on her sleeve - mostly because it’s not even inside her anymore. Her heart is nestled inside someone else’s chest, stitched there by years of loving and fighting and everything in between.

He knows this. Bobbi’s not sure when he figured out that her heart was his to hold and his to break, but if there had ever been any doubt in his mind, it’s gone now. The only thing worse than the whole world knowing she’s a fool for Lance Hunter is Lance himself knowing. She doesn’t know why it terrifies her so much.

All of her worries are pushed to the back of her mind when the door to her room opens again. Bobbi’s composure fractures, and she sniffs back a few tears. He’s safe. He’s alive. He’s here.

“Hey,” he greets softly, leaning over the railings of her bed to kiss her forehead. “I heard you had a bit of a fright.”

Bobbi nods at him. “You died again,” she says hoarsely. “I wasn’t fast enough and you,” a sob swallows the rest of her words. It’s the same thing every night, but every night it’s like the first time. Every single time she has to watch him die in front of her is a punch to the gut, and she’s just getting more and more bruised.

Hunter grabs her hand, the one without an IV, and begins rubbing her thumb with gentle strokes. He doesn’t often invite himself into her bed, not if she’s already awake, but Bobbi’s still not able to talk properly. She tugs on his hand, and he interprets the gesture correctly, climbing into the bed slowly so as not to jostle her injured knee.

“I’m right here, Bob.” He hasn’t stopped rubbing her thumb, and Bobbi lets the repetition calm her racing heart. It’s hard to be upset about him dying when he’s next to her, their bodies pressed as close together as her injuries allow. Hunter’s other hand settles just beneath her ribcage, steadying the fluttering in her stomach with its familiar weight.

“Do you ever think that this means something?” Bobbi asks into the darkness. “That - we’re star-crossed, or something? That we’re not meant to be?” It’s been bothering her a lot, lately, the thought that maybe her getting hurt was the universe’s way of warning her away from Hunter.

“Not to make light of your feelings, love, but that’s ridiculous,” Hunter scoffs. “All that this means is that there was a psychopath whose girlfriend was obsessed with you, and you got hurt.” He squeezes her hand gently.

“But…” Bobbi whispers.

“But what? Okay, we’ve been divorced. But I think we both know that had everything to do with us and nothing to do with some higher power.” Hunter shifts his grip on her, kissing the nape of her neck softly. “You know I don’t believe in that kind of stuff, Bob.”

Bobbi nods. Hunter has never believed in God, or fate, or anything bigger than himself. Bigger than them, she corrects. Hunter has always believed in them, as partners of all kinds. At the end of the day, she believes in them, too. It’s why they both keep coming back, and it’s why Bobbi is letting him in even though it terrifies her.

“I’m just scared,” Bobbi says. “Because if it’s fate, then there’s something else to blame. But if it’s us…”

“If it’s fate, then we don’t have a choice. If it’s us, we do.” Lance completely reframes the thought, and Bobbi sags in his arms. That explanation makes so much more sense. “And I choose you.”

A fresh wave of tears springs into Bobbi’s eyes. _I choose you_. It’s so simple, but it feels like a new beginning.

“Forget fate,” Bobbi declares.

“Anyone who believes in it is a sucker anyways,” Hunter replies. She can feel him smiling into the skin of her neck, and even through the thin veil of tears, she smiles, too.

“Yeah,” Bobbi laughs. “And anyone who thinks they’re cursed is an idiot.”

“A big, bloody idiot,” Hunter agrees. He pokes her stomach softly, and she chuckles again. “So you don’t think we’re star-crossed anymore?”

“No,” she answers without hesitation. “I choose you, too.”

Bobbi can’t see his face with him spooning her, but she can practically feel the joy rolling off of Hunter in waves. They do not need fate, or curses, or a star-crossed story. All they need is each other, and the choices they have.

She is still afraid of her heart sitting snugly inside of him, and she is still afraid to love someone at all. But she is not afraid to make a choice.

She loves Lance Hunter.

She chooses him.


End file.
